Today’s Spanish word of the day is “encantar”.
It’s a verb that can mean “to love” or “to enchant/bewitch”.
When used to mean “to love”, the thing that is loved is the subject of the phrase, not the person doing the loving. Therefore, to say “I love it”, you’d say “me encanta”, which is literally like saying “it enchants me”, rather than “yo encanto”.
Some related words in Spanish include the following:
- Encanto – Charm/spell. Also the name of a popular Disney movie set in Colombia.
- Encantamiento – Enchantment
- Encantado/a – Delighted/enchanted. Also used to say “pleased to meet you”.
- Encantador/a – Charming
The word “encantar” comes from Latin incantare, meaning “to enchant” or “to cast a spell”. This is also the root of the English words “enchant” and “incantation”.
Example sentences
Me encanta viajar.
I love traveling.
A ella le encantan los animales.
She loves animals.
El hechizo la encantó y quedó dormida por cien años.
The spell enchanted her and she fell asleep for a hundred years.
Le encantó tanto el pastel que se casó con él… luego se lo comió.
He loved the cake so much he married it… then ate it.
Les encantó el regalo que les dimos.
They loved the gift we gave them.
